SINGAPORE: Education expert Professor S. Gopinathan has cautioned against
"over-vocationalising" university education in Singapore.
He was commenting on the
government's move to diversify the university sector with more applied degree
programmes that have close ties with industry.
Professor Gopinathan, an adjunct
professor at the SIM University (UniSIM), was speaking to Channel NewsAsia on
the sidelines of an education conference organised by international publisher
Marshall Cavendish.
"As a nation, we've always
been concerned to make sure that school graduates, university graduates are
employable," Professor Gopinathan said. "We've always tended to say,
relevance, relevance, relevance!"
But he asked: "But in the 21st
century knowledge economy and society, what is relevant? How do we know what
will be relevant?
"How do we ensure that a
broad base of 21st century skills and competencies are something that students
will fine-hone and get at university?"
Professor Gopinathan believes
that while there is a place skill and for understanding what skills will be
required, "there's also a place for broadening of one's exposure to the
knowledge base, to the knowledge and skills that are and should be available
through a university education."
The challenge, he said, is how
university education can remain relevant to a future that is uncertain.
While graduates' employability is
important, he said it should not be over-emphasised.
- CNA/wm/xq
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